The study found nominal differences in the range of covered benefits across benchmark plan options, with the exception of maternity services. Assuming a one to four percent cost increase, they saw a need to minimally augment Individual and Small Group premiums to account for essential maternity and newborn care coverage.

The report also found that an evaluation of benchmark plan options should also take into consideration optional coverage, such as Virginia’s mandatory benefit offers and non-formulary drugs, along with the relative importance of certain benefits and appropriate benefit limits for items like chiropractic care, hearing aids, and telemedicine. The report offers a preliminary estimated average premium increase of two to four percent to collectively account for these other services. Additional analysis would be necessary to establish Virginia’s final benchmark plan.

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The Piper Report blog on healthcare business and policy covers issues in Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act, with articles, interviews, resources, primers, book reviews, and more. Edited by Kip Piper, CEO of Medonomics.